The present application is generally related to devices for assisting those who have difficulty grasping items. More specifically, the present application relates to an assist device that can be removably attached to a user's forearm and can be used to secure a handle, or other item.
There are currently many individuals who lack the arm and/or hand strength required to grip certain items. For instance, it takes a certain amount of arm and hand strength to adequately grip a sports club, such as a golf club, a baseball bat, etc. Many individuals lack sufficient strength. In addition, such individuals may find it difficult to grip other items as well, such as broom handles, rake handles, pan handles, or a wide variety of other things.
There are myriad causes for this reduced grip strength. Among those are included arthritis and rheumatism, which cause joint pain during certain types of flexion or extension of the hand joints, for instance. For example, one study, even several years ago, has indicated that those suffering from arthritis, in the United States alone, number in excess of 51 million. Other things also make it difficult for certain individuals to grip items. Those things include stroke, which afflicts approximately 600,000 people in the United States every year, amputation for various reasons, which afflicts in excess of 185,000 people in the United States every year, diseases such as Cerebral Palsy which afflicts over half a million in the United States, and other causes such as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome which afflicts in excess of 11 million people in the United States.
All of these things can afflict individuals in a way that makes it difficult, or impossible, for those individuals to carry on even simple everyday tasks, much less to engage in hobby activities, such as sports activities.